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She pauses, then asks, "Do you know of other examples of animals being killed for no apparent reason by undead?"

OOC: Selc, do I?

"Let me think on that one. I was taught that deadfellas hate anything alive but I agree with you, it's a rum deal going on here."

Still focussed on his efforts to test whether the strange invulnerability of these undead continue after their destruction, Kraken replies to Doral without looking up.

"Reckon making our own terms would be good," he says with a nod. "I can tell ya, those things hit bloody hard, and my blade hardly hurt 'em. Your chants did better, that and the lightning. Feel a bit of a nong, to tell the truth. I should have used the deadfella chant, tried to put 'em down that way, but once the storm gets in me.... So anyway I reckon we're better keeping them at arm's length if we see them again, eh?"

Dorel and Kraken pick over the bones, examining them each in turn as they try to identify the type of undead that attacked them. Midian soon joins them and as he ceases to focus on his spell, the storm overhead lessens from a downpour to a steady drizzel. You are able to tell several things about the bodies. First, that you are unable to identify them with any known natural creature. The double row of teeth, the enlongated limbs and oddly shaped claws set these bodies apart. Secondly, the "bones" themselves are entirely made of stone. Whisper and Midian note that they have seen bones similar to these in the museums of Aundair. They believe that the bones are fossilized, most of the calcium structure was replaced by minerals over the course of many, many years. It gives them an unusual resistance to bladed weapons, but Kraken's attempt to shatter the femur upon a nearby stone produces satisfying results. The bones cracks easily from the blunt force. Additionaly, you find bits of black sinew attaching the bones together at each joint. They seem to provide some flexibility and helps hold the body together. Finally, you note that some parts of the creature are still real bone. The teeth and claws are still razor sharp. They also seem to be mixed and matched from a variety of different animals. Some of the teeth are conical, while others are shaped like sharks teeth. The claws are roughly uniform in shape, but some are different sizes as if taken from two animals of differing ages.

Whisper

Spoiler:

Whisper casts her detect magic spell and carefully examines the body. The black sinew attached to the joints radiates a faint necromatic aura, while something attached inside the rib cage gives off a much stronger aura. Carefully prying aside the bones reveals a bundle of black sinew wrapped around an object attached to the spinal cord. Lifting them aside reveals the glint of a dark crystal, a khyber dragonshard. It looks similar to the shard that Brother Oallie had secured in his chest aboard the sunken ship. It was likely used as part of the animating force of the creature. Knowing that, the creature may be vulnerable to certain spells that can shatter crystalline objects.

Kraken

Spoiler:

You've seen mutilated animal bodies in the forests before. It seems that when left to their own devices the creatures will kill and tear apart anything they come across. From the hand-wrapped sinew and bits of attached bone, you can tell these were created and not raised at random. You think it likely that whoever created these would also have the power to command them.

Doral answers, "Well I certainly don't know of a creature that looks like this in nature. If it is a patchwork of different species, then this certainly proves there is a mastermind behind this atrocity."

Kraken throws aside the piece of broken fossil and stands, tendons creaking as he does so. He nods at Doral and Glaive's musings, but seems distracted by another thought. He turns to Whisper.

"We *have* found dead animals, their bodies all mangled. Looking at these fellas' teeth, reckon we've found what did it. Another animal would at least eat its catch, not just rip it up for hits and giggles, eh?

"The bo'sun on my old ship used to tell great stories about pirate treasure, and there was one, The Treasure of Black-Hearted Jake, that I'm minded of now. Now, Jake had won his treasure from a Lyrander ship, at great cost. A lot of his crew, they were grumbling mutiny. Jake took the loudest grumblers, some of his loyal crew and his treasure in a boat to an island. He had the would-be mutineers killed, then had his wizard out a chant on 'em and turn 'em into deadfellas, so they'd protect his treasure and scare off anyone who came to his island.

Doral tries to keep his newly perked up interest hidden as he asks, "Maybe they are guarding the old treasure... how much do you suppose was buried? Well, we can't let such travesties just sit on this island terrorizing any passerby. I say we do our best in removing this plight."

"I doubt this has anything to do with Black-Hearted Jake, I reckon that was just a tall tale to tell a nipper, eh? The old bo'sun was a bit of a lying larrikin. But I reckon these deadfellas are to protect *something*, and I also reckon we wait until light to find it."

The group settles down for the rest of the night. Sleep comes slowly as strange bird calls and shrieking forest creatures is unsettling to the newcomers. The only one that seems immune to the noise is Kraken. The rain lets up shortly after everyone falls asleep.

The next morning the sun struggles to break through thick grey clouds overhead. The captain sends over more sailors and mercs who set to work creating shelters and clearing brush in a wide area around the camp. It seems that they have things well in hand and before long you are prepared to set out. Raysuldra (ooc: seems mia) remains behind at the camp for now to help organize things here. Midian crouches low to the ground and studies the trail the creatures left behind. Kraken stands over him helping him find additional signs of the trail as well as showing the best routes to use. The trail winds randomly across the island's slope, it seems that the creatures were wandering for a while before they came across the herd of reptiles. The trail leads you ever upwards towards the top of the northern slope.

It is a difficult climb to the top, but by taking your time setting ropes moving slowly it is manageable. At the top of the slope, you look out over a massive expanse of land. The island is quite large, big enough that you can barely make out the ocean at the southern end of the island. The trail goes cold at the top, but its course seemed to indicate that they came from somewhere in the interior. The canopy below you looks dense but you can make out ridges of stone here and there, at least enough to provide you with some landmarks.